After opening Northern Sun Conference play on Friday with a win at MSU Moorhead, Wayne State fell for the first time this season on Saturday with a loss to Northern State.
The 19th-ranked Wildcats volleyball team never trailed in controlling MSU Moorhead in Friday’s Northern Sun Conference opener for both teams at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, Minn. The Wildcats cruised to a 25-16, 25-14, 25-9 victory.
Wayne State took an early 6-1 lead in the opening set and forced eight MSU Moorhead attack errors in the opening set. Freshman Kelsie Cada paced Wayne State at the net with five kills followed by Katie Stephens with four.
The Wildcats jumped to an early lead in the second set (10-3) and never looked back in taking the two-set advantage, with Cada notching six kills in seven attacks while Maddie Duffy served up two aces in the set to help complete the sweep.
Cada led the Wildcats with 14 kills and a .407 attack percentage followed by Tarrin Beller with eight kills. Defensive specialist Hope Carter had 11 digs while junior Duffy added three service aces. Setter Rachel Walker handed out 29 set assists.
On Saturday, eighth-ranked Northern State handed Wayne State its first loss of the season,, winning 25-23, 25-16, 25-17 in action at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D.
Northern State jumped out to an early lead in the opening set, forcing Wildcat timeouts at 7-3 and 17-9. The Wildcats rallied and scored three straight points on Northern State set point and got within one at 24-23, led by Beller’s seven kills, before the Wolves won the final point to take the first set.
The second set saw the host Wolves pull away from a 10-10 tie midway through the second set and used 18 kills and a .359 attack percentage, then took control late in the third set and force seven attack errors by the Wildcats to finish off the three-set sweep.
Beller led Wayne State in the contest with 10 kills and six blocks. Madison Knobbe added eight kills and four blocks while Cada had eight kills and 19 digs. Libero Haley Kauth accounted for 22 digs while Walker handed out 29 set assists.
Wayne State (9-1, 1-1 NSIC) will start a five-game home stand Tuesday, hosting Augustana in a non-conference match at Rice Auditorium starting at 6 p.m. The match will also be the 14th-annual WSC SPORTS Club Black Out/Pack the House Night as fans are encouraged to wear black and help set a new single-match attendance record for Wildcat volleyball.
